Staten Island Advance/Michael OatesArthur Rubin is led into the 120 Police Precinct stationhouse in St. George on April 14.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Willowbrook man who allegedly strangled his wife in their home three weeks ago, and later apparently tried to kill himself, has been indicted for second-degree murder.

Arthur Rubin, 64, potentially faces 25 years to life behind bars if convicted of the felony charge. It is the sole count in the indictment a grand jury handed up yesterday.

Eva Rubin, 63, was found dead at about 1:30 p.m. on April 12 in the couple’s Crafton Avenue home, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

At a court proceeding last month, prosecutors said the Rubins were in debt and the victim’s slaying was the culmination of an escalating domestic dispute. Prosecutors also said the couple had lost property in Florida.

Rubin bought rat poison in a Monticello Home Depot, possibly to kill himself, and returned to Staten Island at some point afterward, prosecutors said.

Rubin hadn’t ingested the poison when police found him that night about eight hours after the alleged murder, parked in his wife’s SUV around the corner from their residence. But his wrists were slit and he had stab wounds of the chest, in an apparent suicide attempt, multiple sources said.

Rubin had previously contacted family members and friends, some via text messages, indicating what he had done to his wife, and told them he was sorry, said prosecutors.

At Rubin’s arraignment three weeks ago in Stapleton Criminal Court, his lawyer, Charles Finkelstein, denied any financial strife, contending the couple had no money problems and no history of domestic violence.

He said the defendant had "cherished" his wife for 45 years and what had occurred was "not intended."